Animal hobble

ABSTRACT

The hobble of this invention includes a substantially C-shaped body portion and a yoke portion carried by a shank threadably mounted in the body portion thereof. The yoke portion of the hobble is engageable with the rear tendon of an animal&#39;&#39;s hind leg, while the body portion is engageable with the front portion of the leg. The yoke portion is rotatably mounted by means of a screw and cooperating annular slot on the shank so that the yoke may remain stationary during rotation of the shank, the shank being operable to move the yoke portion inwardly and outwardly within the body portion in response to rotation of the shank.

United States Patent 1 Jansen-Vanbeek et al.

[ 1 Nov. 6, 1973 ANIMAL HOBBLE [76] Inventors: Guy Jansen-Vanbeek, Rt.1,

Caldwell, Idaho 83605; John Jansen-Vanbeek, Rt. 1, Fruitland, Idaho83619 [22] Filed: Jan. 24, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 219,983

[52] US. Cl. 119/126 [51] Int. Cl A01k 15/00, B68b 01/14 [58] Field ofSearch 119/126, 127, 128, 1 19/96 [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 1,248,651 12/1917 Harper 119/126 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS583,557 10/1958 Italy 119/127 950,428 2/ 1964 Great Britain 119/128179,253 l1/l935 Switzerland ..l19/126 Primary Examiner-Louis G. ManceneAssistant Examiner.lames H. Czerwonky Att0mey.lohn W. Kraft [57]ABSTRACT The bobble of this invention includes a substantially C- shapedbody portion and a yoke portion carried by a shank threadably mounted inthe body portion thereof. The yoke portion of the hobble is engageablewith the rear tendon of an animals hind leg, while the body portion isengageable with the front portion of the leg. The yoke portion isrotatably mounted by means of a screw and cooperating annular slot onthe shank so that the yoke may remain stationary during rotation of theshank, the shank being operable to move the yoke portion inwardly andoutwardly within the body portion in 1 response to rotation of theshank.

1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures FIELD OF INVENTION The present inventionrelates to animal hobbles and, more particularly, to animal hobblesoperable to cause an animal, such as a cow, to remain substantiallymotionless when attached;

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The art of hobbling animals, such ascows, oxen, horses, and the like, has long been used and employed torestrain their movements. Such means as tethers, leashes, and bindingsabout the feet have been known for many years. It is particularlyimportant to restrain the movement of cows and goats while they arebeing milked to'avoid injury to the animal, the milker, and to obtainthe milk. It has been common practice to place such animals instanchions which tend to restrain head movement and to pacifiythe'animal during milking by feeding it. However, such means do notrestrict movements of the legs and body, particularly in the hindquarters of the animal. Such movement of the animal frequently causesinjury to the person milking, equipment, or to the animal itself.

Accordingly, it is an extremely important object of the presentinvention to provide a hobble operable to tend to restrain movement ofthe legs and limbs of the animal.

A further object of this invention is to provide a hobble simple inconstruction; a hobble which tends not to cause discomfort or injury tothe animal; and a hobble operable to be readily and hastily applied andremoved from the animal.

These and other objects shall become apparent from the descriptionfollowing, it being understood that modifications may be made withoutaffecting the teachings of the invention here set out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally, the bobble of this inventionincludes a substantially C-shaped body portion and a yoke portioncarried by a shank threadably mounted in the body portio'n thereof. Theyoke portion of the hobble is engageable with the rear tendon of ananimals hind leg, while the body portion is engageable with the frontportion of the leg. The yoke portion is rotatably mounted on the shankso that the yoke may remain stationary during rotation of the shank,theshank being operable to move the yoke portion inwardly and outwardlywithin the body portion in response to rotation of the shank.

A more thorough and comprehensive understanding may be had from thedetailed description of the pre-,

ferred embodiment when read in connection with the drawings forming apart of this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view ofthe animal hobble of the present invention showing to advantage the yokeand yoke stop of the invention. I

FIG. 2 is a front elevationalview of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the animal hobble of this inventionas viewed from the side opposite the FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side elevational view of the yoke portiondrawn to a larger scale showing .to advan-- tage the swivel connectormeans of the yoke portion connected to the threaded shank portion.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the hobble of this invention fastened tothe leg of a cow shown in broken lines for illustrative purposes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to thedrawings and, more particularly, to the FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the animalhobble of the present invention is generally shown and identified by thenumeral 10. The hobble includes a substantially C-shaped body portion 11 having a threaded entranceway 12 at its lowermost terminal sideportion and a yoke stop portion 13 on its innermost upstanding side. Athreaded shank 14 is threadably engageable with the entrance'way 12. Theshank 14 is provided with a handle 15 at one of its terminal ends and ayoke 16 suitably fastened at the terminal end opposite thereof. The endof the shank 14 adjacent the yoke 16 is provided with an upstandingprojection 17 having an annular slot 18 portion 21 at one of itsterminal ends engageable with the slot 18. Hence, the yoke 16 may rotateor swivel on the projection 17 of the shank 14 while being fastenedthereto by the screw 20. In, this manner the yoke 16 may bejuxtapositioned to the tendon of an animal, such as a'cow, as shown toadvantage in the FIG. 5 and hereinafter later more fully disclosed. Oneof the upstanding legs of the yoke is preferably provided with aoutwardly projecting stop dog 22 engageable with the upstanding yokestop portion 13 carried by the body portion 11. The yoke 16 is movedinwardly and outwardly within the body portion 11 in response torotation of the shank 14.

In practice it has been found that by maintaining a constant pressure onthe rear tendon of one of the hind legs of an animal the animal tends tostand in one place. In operation, the animal hobble of the presentinvention is juxtapositioned on one of the hindlegs of an animal abovethe leg joint with the body portion 1 1 toward the front portion of theleg and the yoke 16 engaging the tendon thereof. The hobble 10 isjuxtapositioned and the yoke 16 is moved toward the tendon in responseto movement of the shank 14 until sufficient pressure is exerted on thetendon to cause the animal to stand still. It may be seen that the stopdog 22 of the yoke 16 engages the yoke stop portion 13. This engagementof the dog 22 and the portion 13 maintains the alignment of the yoke 16as the yoke 16 is actuated inwardly and outwardly. In this manner, theyoke 16 does not tend to exert a twisting force on the tendon, andavoids injury to the animal.

Having thus described in detail a preferred apparatus which embodies theconcepts and principles of the invention and whichaccomplishes thevarious objects, purposes and aims thereof, it is to be appreciated andwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that many physical changescould be made in the apparatus without altering the inventive conceptsand principles embodied therein. Hence,it is intended that-the scope ofthe invention be limited only to the extent indicated in the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1. An animal hobble comprising a substantially C- shaped body portionhaving a threaded entranceway in the lowermost side thereof, a shankthreadably engageable with said entranceway, said shank having a handleat one of its terminal ends and a yoke rotatably mounted at the terminalend opposite, said yoke being disposed within said body portion, saidyoke being engageable with the tendon on the rear side of a hind leg ofan animal, said yoke including a stop dog projecting outwardly from saidyoke, said C-shaped body portion including an upstanding yoke stopportion, said stop dog being engageable with said yoke stop portion,said stop dog and said yoke stop portion being operable to juxtapositionsaid yoke portion during inward and outward movement of said yoke withinsaid body portion in response to rotation of said shank, said shankincluding a projection portion at the termainl end opposite said handle,said projecting portion having an annular slot distally disposedtherein, said yoke including a recess portion engageable with saidprojecting portion, a screw threadably carried transversely in said yokeportion and being coincident with said annular slot in said projectingportion of said shank, said screw including a projecting portionengageable with said slot, said screw being operable to rotatably fastensaid yoke on said shank.

1. An animal hobble comprising a substantially C-shaped body portionhaving a threaded entranceway in the lowermost side thereof, a shankthreadably engageable with said entranceway, said shank having a handleat one of its terminal ends and a yoke rotatably mounted at the terminalend opposite, said yoke being disposed within said body portion, saidyoke being engageable with the tendon on the rear side of a hind lEg ofan animal, said yoke including a stop dog projecting outwardly from saidyoke, said C-shaped body portion including an upstanding yoke stopportion, said stop dog being engageable with said yoke stop portion,said stop dog and said yoke stop portion being operable to juxtapositionsaid yoke portion during inward and outward movement of said yoke withinsaid body portion in response to rotation of said shank, said shankincluding a projection portion at the termainl end opposite said handle,said projecting portion having an annular slot distally disposedtherein, said yoke including a recess portion engageable with saidprojecting portion, a screw threadably carried transversely in said yokeportion and being coincident with said annular slot in said projectingportion of said shank, said screw including a projecting portionengageable with said slot, said screw being operable to rotatably fastensaid yoke on said shank.